Crude ACTS - A True Crime Podcast

Before cartel violence dominated headlines, a powerful criminal empire was operating in plain sight along the Texas-Mexico border. In this episode of Crude Acts, we examine the rise of the Chagra brothers—Jimmy, Joe, and Lee Chagra—whose world of drug trafficking, gambling, wealth, and influence made them some of the most notorious figures in Texas crime history. Their empire collided with the fed...

In 1976, a gunman walked through the largest privately-owned home in the United States and shot four people. Two of them died. The man charged was T. Cullen Davis — heir to a Texas oil fortune, one of the wealthiest men in America, and by every account, a man who believed the rules did not apply to him. What followed were two of the most expensive, most watched, and most controversial murder trial...

Houston true crime. A contract killing. A rigged trial. And the most dangerous defense attorney in Texas. In 1968, Alan Berg — a Houston carpet salesman — was lured to the parking lot of the Brass Jug on Sin Alley, forced into a car, and murdered for hire. His body was found six months later in a cedar grove off County Road 257 between Surfside and Galveston, clad in one shoe, a coat, trousers and...

Crude Acts digs into Thomas Thompson’s landmark true crime book Blood and Money, the 1976 bestseller that shocked Texas. Host Jen Schaffer investigates the Joan Robinson Hill case: a suspicious death, a grieving father with dangerous connections, and a story Houston’s elite tried to bury. New episodes every [day]. Houston true crime | Texas cold case | true crime podcast | Blood and Money | Joan R...

True Crime deep dive into Dean Corll and his connections to a wider crime Syndicate is wrapped up in this episode. Next season will be out soon!!

Epstein files illegal activity is nothing new. Our examination of the Syndicate proves it. In this episode we talk about Serial Killer Dean Corll's victim Jeff Konen on our search to find proof of whether or not the Candyman was apart of something bigger.

Send us a text The true crime genre has been diving deep into the world of sex trafficking and discovering it has lineages, that it existed well before Epstein and his associates. Serial Killer Dean Corll's victims in relation to the discussion of The Syndicate and sex trafficking and adjacent industries are talked about in this episode.  Support the show Check out our website www.crudeacts.c...

Send us a text In this episode of Crude Acts, host Jen Schaffer uncovers the disturbing story of Houston music producer Roy C. Ames—a man whose career in Texas blues and R&B masked a massive child-exploitation network operating in the shadows of the 1960s and 1970s. Jen follows Ames’ early ties to Dean Corll, the FBI investigations he escaped, and the shocking warehouses filled with tons of il...

Send us a text This is a Texas True Crime case that goes beyond time and place. Before Epstein there were men sex trafficking throughout the US and some believe serial Killer Dean Corll was apart of it.  This is the syndicate part 3 of our deep dive into the seedy underworld.  Support the show Check out our website www.crudeacts.com See videos of the content on our YouTube channel @CrudeActs Suppo...

Send us a text Sex trafficking didn't start with Jeffery Epstein. We’re moving on to part 2 of the series within the series called The Syndicate. These episodes are about the epidemic of boy exploitation in the 1970 and 80s. In this episode we look at Texas through the lens of a documentary titled Boys for Sale that was released in 1981. From there we examine the connections bringing it close...

Send us a text Sex trafficking didn't start with Jeffery Epstein. In this episode we kick off our delve into the theory that serial killer Dean Corll and his duo of apprentices - Elmer Wayne Henley Jr and David Brooks, were killing as a part of a nationwide sex trafficking ring beyond even Epstein proportions.  This episode includes the connection to John David Norman, France’s Sheldon, Guy S...

Send us a text Trying to understand serial killers is a tall order. In this episode of The Houston Mass Murders we explore criminology and the Serial Killers Apprentices - Elmer Wayne Henley Junior and David Owen Brooks. Dean Corll, the John Wayne Gacy of the south was killed by Henley, leaving the responsibility for what happened on the boys left behind. How culpable were they? And how should we...

Send us a text True crime has a profound impact on the victims and their families. On this episode we talk about what it took to identify the many victims of the candy man case. The important scientists, like Dr. Sharon Derrick, who helped identify them and the closure she gave to many of the families. We will also talk about Lise Olsen's book, The Scientist and the Serial Killer and new fact...

Send us a text In the true crime series we are talking about serial killer Dean Corll and the Houston mass Murders. Who were his victims, The Lost Boys of the Houston Mass Murders? The 29 victims of serial killer Dean Corll and his murdering apprentices.  Support the show Check out our website www.crudeacts.com See videos of the content on our YouTube channel @CrudeActs Support the show by clickin...

Send us a text Who were the victims of serial killer Dean Coll? In this episode we will go over The Lost Boys of the Houston Mass Murders. The 29 victims of serial killer Dean Corll and his murdering apprentices. This is part one of an examination.  Support the show Check out our website www.crudeacts.com See videos of the content on our YouTube channel @CrudeActs Support the show by clicking http...

Send us a text On this season of Crude Acts we'll be diving into the seedy underworld of missing and exploited children and what happens when they fall into the wrong hands. On this first episode we're picking back up the Dean Corll story. This serial killer along with his two accomplices committed the Houston Mass Murders where 29 young boys and men lost their lives.  Episode one will b...

Send us a text This is a true crime case that rocked Houston, Texas in the 1970s. It's The Houston Mass Murders - A Serial Killer known as The Candy Man, Dead Corll, who...along with his two apprentices David Brooks and Elmer Wayne Henley Jr. killed an upwards of 29 young boys and young men.  Support the show Check out our website www.crudeacts.com See videos of the content on our YouTube cha...

Send us a text Texas True Crime about The Candy Man - Dean Corll. How did this quiet, mild mannered man become one of the most notorious serial killers in America? What were the signs? How did he convince teen boys to do his bidding and how did he get away with killing so many boys right under everyone's noses?  Support the show Check out our website www.crudeacts.com See videos of the conten...

Send us a text Loose ends are tied up in this episode of Crude Acts. New names are brought to the forefront. Old leads are brought back to the surface. They all converge in a story that exposes a web of illegal activity that runs deeper than Texas well.   Have a listen to this last episode and see if you can piece together who you  believe killed Debbie and Sandy.  Support the show Check out our w...

Send us a text This is episode 9 of season 2 of Crude Acts - Who Killed Debbie and Sandy, a true crime series. In this episode we dig deeper into some connected stories of alleged illegal narcotics smuggling.  We follow that story with how it appears that Chambers County Sheriffs Office has been unwilling to investigate the case and why we assume that is the case.  We're getting close to the...

Send us a text On this special episode of Crude Acts we go over how in Texas, Oil and Politics go hand in hand.  And sometimes oil, politics, and illegal narcotics converge to create a storm like no other.  Support the show Check out our website www.crudeacts.com See videos of the content on our YouTube channel @CrudeActs Support the show by clicking https://www.buzzsprout.com/1935432/support

Send us a text While trying to figure out who killed Debbie and Sandy we've had to do a deep dive into the illegal narcotics scene in Baytown Texas during the 1980s. We already went over the network of men who were connected to the women so we decided in this episode to go over the scene itself, the outlaws who provided the party favors to cultivate this scene.  Come to find out there are oth...

Send us a text This is the 7th installment of the Who Killed Debbie and Sandy series.  In this episode we continue picking apart a confession given to police posthumously to  Bobby Jarvis' death. The report claims Jarvis was there when the women were killed and he claimed Bob Bass and his brother did it.   But...was the known con artist Bobby Jarvis telling the truth? Or was this report one o...

Send us a text Welcome back to Crude Acts - Who Killed Debbie and Sandy, and thank you for joining us as we continue to dive into the mystery of their deaths . On this episode you're going to hear another police report, a shocking confession by someone who claimed to know what happened.  Will we find answers in it or just more questions  Support the show Check out our website www.crudeacts.co...

Send us a text This is our 5th episode in our series about the homicide cold case of Debbie Merritt and Sandy Terrell. In the episode we will uncover more police reports,  one with an informant and another with a person of interest.  What did they have to say and where did it lead the case? Tune in for answers.  Support the show Check out our website www.crudeacts.com See videos of the content on...